The remains of the All Hallow's Church covered in ash and dust. This was the place Adam would meet Jack and Arturo. Here the Sanctified would gather and rebuild. Upon these ashes, a new church would rise.
From the Ashes We Rise
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The remains of the All Hallow's Church covered in ash and dust. This was the place Adam would meet Jack and Arturo. Here the Sanctified would gather and rebuild. Upon these ashes, a new church would rise.
”Mr. Exlibrist.”
A simple greeting as Arturo entered the building, glancing about at its current state. He was dressed simply, blazer and slacks with red buttoned shirt which had the top most buttons left open to reveal the gold chain tucked within.
”I have heard much about you since I have arrived, but I believe this is our first formal meeting.”
Every kindred had their own schedules, but this was a meeting overdue.
”A pleasure.” As he approached his fellow Lance he offered a hand to him. The serpent in his chest was quiet for the moment, coiled and curious about what it sensed, trying to gauge a reaction, much like the vessel which carried it.
If anything, this meeting would take care of a couple items on his to-do list, which made it well worth the time. It seemed they just had to wait for their third.
Adam sensed his arrival via his beast. After events February's Court, he was tempted to vanish. Instead, he adjusted his tie, forcing his beast to be quiet. Grasping the fellow Sanctified's hand, "Brother Garcia, it is a blessing to finally meet you."
Gesturing to the burned and crumbling church. "Welcome to what remains of one of the Church's holdings here in Sacramento. All Hallow's Church destroyed in 2010 by a well-placed grenade. The final resting place of fellow brothers and sisters of the cloth. I felt it fitting that discussion of renewing the Parrish begin here among the ashes."
Arturo took a few moments observe the forgotten ruins, listening carefully to what his fellow Lance had to say. Adam had had the luxury to pursue the fate of their covenant in the Domain, while he had been busy establishing himself. While it gave him a lower profile, it had not provided the insight that he was being granted now.
”The symbolism won’t be lost.” he added off hand as he ran a finger over some of the dusty furniture left abandoned, wiping it on his pant leg as he finished looking at how deep it went.
”Do you know when our guest will arrive? I am hoping he doesn’t mind the decour, it will help give weight to necessity of establishing our numbers.” He mused, eyes still curiously wandering.
”Though I don’t know how we will get by without a swimming pool.” He joked about the lack of luxuries the Lance currently had, but that was simply a matter of time, something kindred had plenty of.
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Jacque entered the ruins, simultaneously relieved and surprised that he had the correct building. He was dressed with his overcoat, covering a more practical vest.
The Beast clamored, its focus completely on Arturo. Flee, it begged. He waved off the beast as he approached ever closer.
"Interesting venue choice, Mister Exlibrist," motioning to the area around the group "I love a good story of history. This place seems to have the lion's share of it."
He offers a respectful bow of his head to each, "Why here?" It was the small things that offered windows into who someone was.
"Mr. Jacque, right on time. Blessings upon you." Adam bows to the new arrival.
"I chose this ruined church to initiate our discussions of faith, as it is here that the Sacramento Parish began to collapse. It is here that a mighty blow was struck to the Sanctified of Sacramento. It was here..." Adam approaches a window within a crumbling wall, "that a mighty Inquisitor fell, ashed by an incendiary grenade. A trap set by forces unknown to cover up a heinous sin, diablerie. It is at this All Hallows Church, a sanctuary for the Sanctified, that chaos was sewn within the covenant, igniting a chain of Bishops, leading us to our current status."
Adam had heard Mother Superiors account of the events leading up to that night and those following. Was the attack truly an act of the VII, was it an attack by a rival covenant, or was it an internal affair brought on by sectarian rivalry within the church? Or something worse?
"Before we sit and discuss the future of our church, we much understand the foundations from which we build upon. From these ashes, we must rise."
”Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
He enjoyed the excitement that Adam brought to the re-establishment of the Lance in the city. From where he was he had found a few chairs pushed off to the sides. As he collected them he felt the serpent inside of him ripping at his back, reared back and trying to loom over the weaker beast. His knuckles were white on the chairs he held, and he found himself wanting to take deep breath. He took a moment to collect himself from reacting to the weaker beast.
With some effort Arturo managed to pull three of the decorative seats to the open area near the altar, and sat them in a fairly spaced out circle, a little more than arms length from one another. He motioned for the others to have a seat as he came around to take the one chair for himself.
”Jack, you reached out to us. I don’t want to bore you with talk about how many nails rebuilding this place will take if that is not what you were wanting. As your hosts, tell us how we can help you?”
Arturo leaned forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped. He did not want to rob a kindred of their night with manners they may not care about, so he decided to cut to the chase.
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Jacque smiles as he takes a seat, "The current status being..." Jacque pauses to consider the right words, "Under new management?"
"On the contrary I'm quite interested in the details," he responded, dismissively waving off the notion of boredom. "I'm a bit of a truth seeker. As you two may know, covenants often carry a shadow of secrecy which provide the necessary catalyst for rumor and ignorance to thrive." Smirking after a pause, "I abhor ignorance."
"Especially in matters of faith, perception has frequently led to these types of mistruths throughout history. For example, during the infancy of Christianity the sacred rite of communion was mistaken for literal cannibalism." Jacque chuckles at the absurdity, "Of course, time would show that to be false but I choose that example because if I understand it your faith has some roots in either Christianity or Catholicism? I am not quite sure."
Gesturing outward, "And that leads us to the purpose of this meeting. I've always had a fascination with Faith. It is a remarkable thing that often inspires us to be our greatest... or our worst", the tone shifting briefly ominous with the final three words.
"I'm curious of the Church, the faith and how you as individuals worship. For every rumor of the Crone being a coterie of blood orgies there are two for the Sanctum being an organized military of zealots. February's court did no favors to that perception."
Adam took a seat and listened.
"Most of your questions could best be answered by reading The Catechism, a religious tract that covers the most basic and common questions regarding the church. Brother Garcia, you wouldn't by chance have a copy of it to share with Mr. Jacque would you?"
”A kindred who seeks the light, aren’t you Mr. Jack? I can appreciate that drive to know more, we should never settle. I know that I know nothing, I believe was the saying. The exact name of who escapes me at the moment.”
He continued to listen to the others in his presence, keeping a small smile on his face and playing a gracious host, even if the venue was not up to the usual fan fare.
”You mean to tell me it wasn’t supposed to be cannibalism?”
He gave a chuckle at the statement, a clear joke to keep the mood light. Adam however, had the idea to suggest he may carry with them a document that detailed the basics of their covenant, in a small 12 to 15 page document that outlined the benefits of the Church in basic and clear language with an emphasis on joining the lay.
”Mr. Exilbrist is correct, I do have a copy on hand. My suggestion is to take it with a grain of salt, Mr. Jack. It is a basic and simple document, and designed for those whom may more troubled than others and seeking a community in the immediate future. I don’t think you are the type to have your questions appeased by soapbox preachers.”
Arturo produced from the inside of his jacket a pamphlet, and leaned over so that Jack could take it, it was as he said, a blanket document, with a light hearted pro-church stance, and was very inviting overall. Its language was simple and clear, a skilled reader could tell it was designed to not test the mind. It was propaganda at the core, just as the Lord had alluded to, and he did not want to insult Jack’s intelligence by suggesting otherwise.
”The Lancea et Sanctum is most commonly associated with Catholicism, and from there the Reformation churches which followed, however our nomenclature still is heavily drawn from the Roman Catholic lexicon. I would also like to draw to your attention that while we here mostly recognize the Lancea et Sanctum as a Christian movement, it can be firmly in Abrahamic creeds the world over.”
Shifting back, Arturo leaned in his chair, still keeping the four legs of the furniture planted but straightening himself up with hand gently clasped in front of him.
”Make no mistake you will be able to find zealots, it is something out covenant shares with the more mundane variations of the Church, but in large we are far more about a sense of community, structure, and purpose. It are these tenants that explain why the Lancea et Sanctum can so often be found working hand in hand with other covenants such as the Invictus to help flesh out a Domain.
As for individual worship? I myself do it away from prying eyes. I do what I can to avoid the label of zealot, as it can hamper general courtesies. What of yourself Mr. Exilbrist? Do you feel I missed anything of note?”
Arturo was happy to discuss the Lance, but he wasn’t going to offer a history on a silver platter. He wished to see how Jack would lead the discussion and where he would take it, and for the moment one Lord would indulge another and offer what he could.
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